After joking about Carl Reiner having inappropriate boundaries with his baby son Rob, Franken goes on to joke about Carl inviting "his famous friends" in Hollywood to rape his child-aged son.

Rob Reiner looks nervous, frazzled, and fidgety throughout the whole thing. Not because he's shocked by the transgressive humor -- he's heard plenty worse in the entertainment business. I wasn't the only one who noticed such a bizarre reaction:

Now, the culture warriors on the Right are taking aim here at Franken for his taboo-breaking jokes. But in this case, truth may be stranger than fiction.

Here is an article from Radar Online, re-posted with comments at Blind Gossip, which both have a proven track record of accurate sources in the entertainment industry. It is about former child star Corey Haim naming one of his sexual abusers from when Haim was underage in the 1980s. Haim named his abuser to close friends before dying in 2010, and his friends so far have not revealed the name for fear of libel charges.

In the detective work of the many pages of comments, the only guess that makes any sense, and who has a known link to Haim during the mid-1980s, is Rob Reiner. (Charlie Sheen was a popular guess, but the article clearly says someone with a "family-man" facade -- obviously not Sheen, and perhaps a play on words, with Reiner staring in All in the Family.)

How is Reiner linked to Haim at the time of his abuse? From Wikipedia:

Haim had read for River Phoenix's role in Stand By Me while eating lunch in director Rob Reiner's backyard, and got the part the same day that he was offered Lucas. He later said he would not have changed his decision [to go instead with Lucas].

And of course Stand By Me stared another former child actor who keeps threatening to call out specific gay pedophiles who control Hollywood -- Corey Feldman, a close friend of Haim's. So there's the early link between Reiner and Feldman.

Was Al Franken joking that this kind of behavior started with Carl setting up his son Rob for abuse by Hollywood pedos, or was he thinly disguising a revelation that Rob himself was the kingpin of a pedo ring in Hollywood? (Or both -- that the practice ran in their Hollywood family?)

Franken is a liberal Jew who became famous in show business, so it's possible he doesn't disapprove of such behavior, and is enjoying the transgression on two levels -- violating the taboo against incest, pedophilia, and homosexuality, and sharing an earth-shattering secret in public, but one that only the in-group realize is truthful.

Then again, he is a do-gooder Minnesota type, so it's possible he disapproves of gay pedo rings in Hollywood, and is trying to shame Reiner as openly as possible while maintaining as much plausible deniability as possible (by switching Reiner's role from adult kingpin to child victim). Franken's tone sounds more dour than titillated, so I favor this explanation. Not all Jewish liberals from show-biz are so far out-there that they delight in thoughts about pedo rings.

This roast from 2000 was before the torrent of coverage in 2002 of Catholic Church abuse of underage boys. So Franken and Reiner might have felt safe to awkwardly take part in a joke about such things.

If you're on Twitter, post that Blind Gossip link whose comments repeatedly bring up Reiner's name as a strong lead for Corey Haim's abuser, and point out the link between Haim and Reiner (and Feldman) from Stand By Me. That is the far bigger story than Al Franken joking about a gay pedo ring (especially if he was only doing that bit in order to publicly hint at Reiner's dirty laundry).

Related post, "Prosecute pedophile rings to delegitimize Hollywood: Winning the culture war without warring over culture"

Feldman speaks rather warmly of Rob Reiner in this clip from 2015. It's so off the cuff and with endearment that I'm skeptical Reiner molested him. Still possible, but proceed with caution.https://twitter.com/bottomtim/status/611369407563087873

His tone is flat and insincere in that clip. He's just listing some Reiner references that he hopes will click with the audience. His pace is rushed and staccato, not leisurely and wistful or nostalgic.

Seems clear that he feels awkward and unpleasant talking about Rob Reiner.

That picture. That second-to-top comment. March 2011. Haim had been dead a year and Corey Feldman would speak out for the first time on Nightline in August 2011 (I was wrong earlier that "Coreyography" in 2013 was the first time).

It's very possible Feldman was being diplomatic. I rewatched and Feldman says Reiner will always be a "legend" to him, instead of a personal term. This clip, like the other, definitely needs more context. The "hello!" could be for emphasis or could be for "can you believe it?" as in "do you believe my lie/con?"

I'll take a gander at it more tonight. BG talks about a "Hollywood producer" at 11, and a "superstar" in his midteens. At 11, Haim was in a Canadian kids show according to Wiki. I presume mid-teens to be 14-16; Haim was born December 23, 1971 so this would be the years 1985-1987. The star power of the directors and actors definitely took a giant leap up during this period. But probably better to expand with 1984-1988.Will any of the others possibly fit the "family man"?I will say, just glancing at the 80s career section of wiki gives me a bad feeling...when these people start "noticing" him. BG focuses on one, but there were other lessers.

I've started with Haim and everything he might have said, and then Corey Feldman, which will take a long time; not done. Blind Gossip/Radar may be a close source...

I trust them.

I haven't gotten that far, and I know they have lots that is new. I did glance over it again, though, before this *very small summary" thus far.

Quickly what I have so far:Feldman makes clear that by the time Haim arrives at "Lost Boys" at age 14, Haim thinks it is natural in Hollywood for grown men and boys to be together and even boys with boys if a girl is not available. This is utterly astounding to Feldman.Feldman describes 4 main incidents that happened to Haim:*rape at age 11*consensual sodomy on the set of "Lucas" during a break, age 13/14*2 separate consensual incidents on the set of "Lost Boys", age 14, (Martin Weiss; "Burnham")

Now, what I have from Haim himself consists only of something he uttered on their reality show, "The Two Coreys" which aired back in 2007-2008. In fact, I *strongly* suspect that this is what may have brought this whole thing out into the open. Haim, among a lot of things, said to Feldman:“You let me get f----d around in my life — raped, so to speak — when I was about fourteen-and-a-half years-old.” and by a "guy you stillf****** hang out with" and that Feldman knows exactly what he's talking about. Asks angrily whatdid he do about it when he saw it going down "besides being his best friend"

"Corey Feldman and Corey Haim discuss their abuse - THE TWO COREYS"Begins about :35Two Coreys ran from July 2007-August 2008https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlZxPPzjIb0

Everything I've found from Feldman dates back, at the earliest, to his book "Coreyography" from 2013 and interviews since (most articles are just gleaning from "Coreyography").

I don't know what Haim is referring to and no article proffers a guess, so perhaps Corey Feldman didn't address it. It may be the incidents on "Lost Boys" that Feldman knew of and was involved with, but which Feldman describes as being consensual on Haim's part.------If Feldman or Haim had anything to say about the time and period between Haim being raped at 11 and the "consensual" sex on the set of "Lucas" ages 13/14, I haven't found it, yet. It's my understanding that Radar/Blind Gossip's info is more about this period.

Just a quick, good video I found of Feldman where he sounds more like he's talking about the "mysterious" period of "Pre-Lucas":"Corey Feldman: Pedophilia Is Hollywood's Biggest Problem"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roW238dfUUk

By the way, when he talks about being surrounded by these pedophiles, but not realizing it, I came across Feldman talking about his 15th birthday party his dad threw for him and coming upon this one photo years later. In it: Haim, Feldman, and literally 5 adult abusers surrounding them.

You should quote from links, since most readers will not click on them if they don't know what the point is. Here's the second comment from top in the TMZ article:

"mark • 6 years ago

"Isn't Rob Reiner the 'hollywood mogul' pedophile that Corey mentioned is running loose around all the children?"

All three of the former stars look traumatized in the group photo with Reiner, who has a creepy fake gay smile on.

Wil Wheaton, after getting back into public view, is clearly psychologically off. Jerry O'Connell is always so high-strung and tense. And of course River Phoenix OD'ed in the early '90s.

They must have all been molested by Reiner and perhaps others in the ring, around the time of filming.

"Child star turns out abnormal" is nearly 100% due to repeated abuse by pedos who control show-biz, while all the responsible adults do nothing -- their bosses, agents, families, social workers, police, nobody does anything to stop it.

Naturally those kids are not going to trust anyone, and will have abnormal sense of boundaries.

Another guess that came up was Spielberg, but there are other blind items clearly about him that show he's straight and into adults.

When casting leads, he required a BJ from one or more of: Carrie Fisher, Teri Garr, Dee Wallace -- check Blind Gossip. And of course he was eager to get Kate Capshaw from Temple of Doom.

On one of the DVD releases of The Goonies, there's a cast re-union commentary and discussion, and they are all very warm, happy, laughing, and nostalgic looking back on it. Not what you'd expect if they'd been abused by the director.

Concur. In my research so far, Spielberg and Richard Donner (Goonies) can definitely be ruled out. Donner even wrote a review for "Coreyography", featured on the back, and even discussed the pedophile crisis and that it was "heartbreaking".My notes are on my computer, will get ref later, but Schumacher is spoken of by Feldman as someone who would have been protective if only he had known what was going on.

Apparently, the 25th anniversary blue ray DVD of "Stand by Me" contains the reunion...tat would definitely be something given the picture and timing of Feldman speaking out.

I'm going to go ahead and try to read Feldman's book. I'll mess around some more tonight and post an interesting dialogue between the 2 Coreys on Larry King.

Are you sure about Spielberg(asking for a BJ on the casting couch)? That would be awful if it was true. His movies really seem like he wouldn't be capable of something like that, but who knows. Blindgossip can be wrong on occasion.

London fire: weird, that building (Grenfell Tower) just got a 10-million pound renovation in the last couple years:

https://twitter.com/RBKC/status/732122522792165376

Either they used the worst materials and methods to renovate the building (big profits to the parasites who got the contract), making it far more vulnerable to fire -- or there was something big enough to overwhelm a recent 10-million pound renovation that should have made it stronger.

Probably innocent, but I'll share anyway. It just surprised me a little.

From the Larry King Show 2007 interview of Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, I was surprised when Feldman was surprised at Haim's answer seeming to suggest, to Feldman, he would rather have worked on "Stand By Me" than "Lucas". Feldman even interrupts him for a question *he should definitely know the answer to*, being his best friend and that he himself was so intimately involved at the time. **From their own words, the discussions they had together about "Lucas" as 14 year-olds were foundational to their lifelong friendship.** It's like, for Haim to even be within the universe of saying he'd rather be in "Stand By Me" is so "out of everything he knows" to Feldman, that Feldman reacts.

The thing is, Corey Haim's answer to the question is so broken up and unintelligible, it is impossible for anyone to know what he is getting at. Feldman, obviously from Haim's final comment, didn't get what Haim was getting at, either.Did Haim notice he was running out of time and tried to rush? Guilt about stealing a part? Reiner? It's too bad we don't have the full video. (So far, this is the only thing I've seen of Haim personally discussing Reiner.)

I'll post the question, Haim's initial response, skip past Feldman's answer, and end with Haim's answer.http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0707/20/lkl.01.html-------------------KING: And an e-mail from Lane in Richmond, Virginia: "Any roles you turned down you wished you'd accepted? And any roles you really, really wanted that went to somebody else?"

FELDMAN: I think we both have those.

HAIM: I stole some by accident. I'm sorry. And I don't want it to come up and...

HAIM: I had a movie I really wanted to do. And we were just talking about being competitive in "License to Drive" and what have you. And (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you know, from Steven Spielberg, there's a few things I wanted to do, which the personal divergence -- and "Lucas," -- I had gotten the part in "Stand by Me" and the part in "Lucas" in the same day. So I was actually eating lunch in Rob Reiner's backyard with him. And I read for rest in peace, River Phoenix's part, got it and...

FELDMAN: So are you saying you would have rather be in "Stand By Me" than "Lucas"?

HAIM: I wouldn't have changed anything...

KING: Boys, I wish you nothing but the best, man.

FELDMAN: Thank you very much.

KING: Corey Feldman and Corey Haim. "The Two Coreys" debuts July 29 on A&E at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Q: "You worked with director Joel Schumacher on The Lost Boys. Did you enjoy it?"

Corey: "Joel was great. I mean, he was a high-tempered man so he did tend to raise his voice a lot, which was a bit startling for me because I was around a lot of violence and anger and things like that as a kid. But he was never violent with us or anything like that. He was a funny guy and a good guy and a great, great filmmaker. So I enjoyed the experience very much."

Q: "Do you feel he protected his actors?"

Corey: "I think he would have, yes. If he had known there was something going on I'm sure he would have stepped in and done whatever he could."http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/corey-feldman-elijah-wood-hollywood-897403

On Steven Spielberg, Producer of "Goonies"...

Q: "Was Goonies producer Steven Spielberg a father figure or mentor to you when you were young?"

Corey: "We were never that close, so I don't know that I would see him as a father figure, but he was certainly a legend and a great man and he was always very kind to me, and we always had a great rapport. Even recently when I've seen him, he is still the same guy. He hasn’t changed. I love Steven, great guy."http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/corey-feldman-elijah-wood-hollywood-897403

"But while Steven Spielberg, who hired him for the first time for “Gremlins,” and director Richard Donner became trusted and supportive friends, most of the adults he met did him harm.http://nypost.com/2013/10/19/the-childhood-hell-of-the-lost-boys/

Richard Donner, director of "Gremlins"...

"As director and producer of many of films that have featured child actors, I'd thought I'd seen and heard it all. "Coreyography" both entertained and delighted me with stories of Corey Feldman's life in Hollywood, as well as the Brat Pack. It shocked me even more. It's a book written from the heart, about a young man who is extremely talented and obviously pained; and that pain gave him the insight and ability to write a book that shed some real light on what happens to youth in Hollywood. An incredible read." --Director Richard Donner, Goonies

-Featured book review of "Coreyography"Scroll down to read. Also, see second pic of book showing review on back.https://www.amazon.com/Coreyography-Memoir-Corey-Feldman/dp/0312609337

On Michael Jackson...

“I would begin to realize that many of the people I had surrounded myself with were monsters.”

It got so bad that after fleeing Ron’s clutches one night only to have another adult male friend attempt to molest him right after, he escaped to the only safe and friendly place he knew.

“I was shattered, disgusted, devastated. I needed some normalcy in my life. So, I called Michael Jackson,” he writes. “Michael Jackson’s world, crazy as it sounds, had become my happy place. Being with Michael brought me back to my innocence. When I was with Michael, it was like being 10 years old again.”

Surprisingly, his friendship with Jackson — who, he makes very clear, never touched him sexually or even tried to.--

http://nypost.com/2013/10/19/the-childhood-hell-of-the-lost-boys/

1989 Corey Feldman interview discussing Michael Jackson

***highly recommend*** It just really captures who Feldman was during what was an absolutely awful time for him due to sexual abuse and trying to flee it. It also backs up what he says as an adult about M.J.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F6krixzNPw

I ordered the Feldman autobiography "Coreyography". I'll return to this thread to post my thoughts on it as well as anything else that I find interesting or whatnot related to the Hollywood pedophile scandal vis a vis the two Coreys.